The present invention relates to a tripod head for receiving an optical instrument, having a cylindrical housing which has a connecting device for a tripod on one end, having a body of two-dimensional symmetry which is movably arranged in the housing and is provided with a locking device for clamping the body fast.
In a conventional tripod head of this type, the body is a ball having an extension for the connecting of the optical instrument, and the locking device consists essentially of a slit annular clamping part having a recess adapted to the spherical contour and within which a spherical section lies, and a clamping screw for pressing the clamping part against the ball in order to clamp the ball fast with respect to the housing.
The disadvantages of this tripod head are essentially that, particularly in the case of large-size cameras, the required clamping action cannot be applied to the ball in the case where the tripod head is supporting an inclined plate holder or lens holder, the housing is deformed in the region of the clamping screw, and the optical instrument cannot be mounted in such a manner as to be free of vibration.